Brilliant
by JPHBK
Summary: Part 9 of my post "Justice League" (2017) series. Bruce and Barry work on making some improvements on his suit. Between work they share backstories.


Disclaimer: DC owns the characters within, not I.

Bruce pushed back from his desk and allowed his chair to roll across the concrete floor behind him, stopping it as it reached the table behind him. He looked at two of the monitors on the screen and then glanced up to see Barry running in place on a treadmill in front of him.

"Is that as fast as you can go?" Bruce questioned.

"No," Barry's voice echoed out of the blur in front of Bruce. "Do you want faster?"

"Yes, we need to see what your upper limits are," Bruce answered.

"You got it," Barry said as he increased his speed. After only a few seconds of running, sparks shot out of the treadmill beneath him and Barry ceased running. He turned to Bruce with a cringe on his face. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Bruce said as his eyes went from Barry back to the computer in front of him. He felt Barry's presence at his side and glanced over to see Barry was reading the numbers as well.

"I thought you said the treadmill thing could handle my speed?" Barry asked with a sideways glance at Bruce.

"I miscalculated," Bruce replied. "I am not sure how to build a machine capable of handling something that can move faster than... sound, light, or whatever your limits are."

"So we got nothing?" Barry asked as he glanced at the monitor in front of Bruce.

"Not really, at least nothing near what I suspect are your upper limits," Bruce responded. Barry let out a sigh and stepped back from the desk. "However I do think I've learned enough to do some improvements on the suit if you'd like."

"For real?" Barry asked.

"Yes," Bruce answered. Barry grinned.

"Batman is gonna make me a suit?" Barry questioned, his grin growing with each word. Bruce shook his head.

"Not make one, just tweak the current one... what you have..." Bruce began as he walked over to the suit lying on a table nearby. "It's quite remarkable what you have put together, not a lot I can do to it, just a few minor things."

"Thanks," Barry said.

"Don't sell yourself short Barry, you are a brilliant guy," Bruce stated as he walked over to a nearby toolbox and opened it.

"You sound like my dad," Barry said as he made his way over to his suit.

"Is that a bad thing?" Bruce questioned.

"No, it's just... sometimes I think maybe he sees more in me than what is there is all," Barry answered. Bruce pulled out a screwdriver and then made his way over to Barry's suit and sat down.

"Or maybe... he sees what you have yet to see in yourself," Bruce rebutted.

"I don't know," Barry said as he pulled up a seat at the table across from Bruce. Bruce began to remove some pieces from Barry's suit. After a couple of minutes, he glanced up at Barry.

"Can I ask you something?" Bruce asked.

"Sure," Barry replied.

"Your dad... he is in prison right, for killing your mother?" Bruce inquired.

"Yes," Barry answered.

"But you believe he is innocent?" Bruce continued.

"I know he is," Barry responded. Bruce lowered the tools in his hand and made eye contact with Barry.

"How do you know?" Bruce asked.

"I was there," Barry said, a sad countenance coming over his face as he remembered the night.

"Do you know who killed her?" Bruce asked. Barry shook his head in the negative. "Then how do you know it wasn't your dad?"

"Whoever it was, they weren't normal," Barry replied. "One moment my mom was fine and the next minute she was bleeding... like she had been stabbed."

"What did you see?" Bruce asked.

"That's the thing, I didn't see anything," Barry answered. Bruce considered the answer for a moment.

"Huh..." Bruce began to consider different possibilities.

"It was a like a ghost," Barry continued. Bruce glanced down at the suit and then back up at Barry.

"Or someone moving too fast to be seen," Bruce suggested tapping on the suit with the screwdriver. Barry furrowed his brow and placed his hands on the table in front of him.

"Do you mean someone like me?" Barry asked.

"I'm just saying maybe it was someone moving so fast you couldn't see them, much like it is with me now when you run," Bruce explained. Barry nodded as he considered the probability of the scenario.

"Who or whatever it was, I'll find out someday," Barry stated. "It's why I'm working at the crime lab... there has to be evidence overlooked."

"Possibly," Bruce agreed. "Listen, if you ever need my help checking anything out..."

"Thanks, Bruce," Barry said.

"Don't mention it," Bruce responded offering him a smile before shifting his focus back to the suit in front of him. Barry watched as Bruce removed a few pieces of the suit and got up from the table. He walked over to place them on a device that Barry was unfamiliar with. Barry saw a light come out and seem to scan the pieces. Bruce turned to him.

"What's that?" Barry asked.

"Just scanning the material for any potential weak points, if we find any we can strengthen them increasing the suits durability," Bruce explained as he walked back over to the table and sat down once more. He began to remove some of the wires used to hold the suit in place.

"Can I ask you something?" Barry asked. Bruce nodded. "How long exactly have you been doing this?"

"This?" Bruce asked.

"The Batman." Barry clarified.

"Pretty much my whole adult life," Bruce answered. Barry nodded.

"It's because of what happened to your parents right?" Barry questioned. Bruce nodded once more. Barry hesitated to go on, not sure how comfortable Bruce was discussing the subject. He found his curiosity on the matter getting the best of him though. "To avenge them?"

"To make sure it didn't happen to someone else," Bruce answered. Barry sat up in his chair and leaned his elbows on the table in front of him.

"I heard about you when I was a kid," Barry answered. Bruce lifted his glance momentarily from his work to meet Barry's. "My dad... he wasn't sure if you were a good guy or not."

Bruce continued working without a response to the statement.

"My mom..." Barry continued. "She said you had to be a good guy, no one would do what you do if they didn't have some good in them."

Bruce's hands ceased their movements and he got up to walk back over to the toolbox nearby. He was rifling through it as Barry continued to speak.

"I was with her in thinking that," Barry said. "Then... that night happened and..."

Bruce stopped and turned to Barry to see him with his head hanging down. Bruce felt overcome with grief for Barry, remembering his own feelings upon seeing his mom murdered in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Barry," Bruce said. Barry looked up at him and shook his head.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, we were not even in this city, no way you could have saved her," Barry responded before swallowing and focusing his attention on the suit in front of him. Bruce watched him for a moment before he made his way to sit back down.

"Barry..." Bruce voiced his name, garnering his attention. "If I could have..."

"I know you would have," Barry replied with a small grateful smile.

There was a silence between them as the two began to continue their work. After a few moments, the sound of an intercom nearby broke the silence.

"Master Wayne, Mr. Stone is here to see you, shall I send him down?" Alfred's voice infiltrated the cave.

"Yes, send him down," Bruce replied over his shoulder in the direction of the intercom. Within a few moments, the sound of a door opening could be heard and both Barry and Bruce turned to see Victor approaching them.

"Hey," Victor greeted them both. Bruce acknowledged him with a nod.

"Hey," Barry responded vocally. "What's up?"

"Just came over to bring Bruce this," Victor said as he pulled a device out of his pocket and handed it to Bruce.

"What's that?" Barry asked. Bruce held it up and Barry glanced at it with a confused look on his face.

"It's a small round red circle?" Barry questioned. Victor chuckled while Bruce smirked.

"It's a lens," Bruce responded.

"Okay..." Barry said with a nod as he awaited more.

"It's for my suit, to help amplify the night vision," Bruce replied as placed the lens down on the table next to him.

"Oh... so Victor is building things for you and you are for me and..." Barry began. "Should I be doing something for someone?"

"We are a team, we help each other," Victor replied chuckling once more as he pulled a chair up to the table and sat next to Barry. "Speaking of... what are we working on here."

"Trying to improve Barry's suit," Bruce answered.

"Durability?" Victor asked.

"Yep," Bruce replied.

"Need a hand?" Victor questioned.

"Sure," Bruce responded as he handed a piece of the wire to Victor. Barry smiled as Victor began to examine it.

"Two of the most brilliant minds in the world working on my suit... so cool," Barry said.

"Three... three of the most brilliant minds," Victor corrected him. He balled a fist and winked at Barry. Barry bumped his fist with his own. "You sell yourself too short."

"I already told him," Bruce said with a grin at Barry before continuing to work.


End file.
